Hutchinson fixed and fit

Hip Check

The Boston Globe—October 14, 2012

Even before the 2011-12 season began, Michael Hutchinson knew there was something wrong with his hips.

“It just never really got better. It got manageable to where I could play. But it was something that once the season was done, I figured to get it fixed now, recover a little bit quicker, and have a clean slate coming in this year.”

So, in hindsight, it was imperative that Hutchinson underwent offseason labrum surgery on both hips. Dr. Bryan Kelly oversaw the repairs at New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery. He performed the same operation on Thomas after the 2009-10 season.

It has become a common procedure for goalies. Doctors believe that the load goalies place on their hips over thousands of butterfly repetitions causes tears to occur. Even young puckstoppers like Hutchinson are at risk.

But as Thomas has proven, goalies can thrive post-surgery. Hutchinson hopes he’ll become the latest.

“I feel great,” Hutchinson said. “My hips feel better now than they did when I was playing junior hockey. Still some minor work that needs to be done — gaining strength, getting stability back — but it’s nice being on the ice and not being in any pain.”